Page 49 of The Demon Court

Having a queen once every hundred years to make a single day easier were the thoughts of an immortal, not of humanity. Though he would remain for years to come, whoever he married would not.

Spirits were not fleeting things. Spirits of lust even less so. His kind rarely died because humans felt the emotion more strongly than any other.

The entire day was stressful, full of aches and pains and annoyances. And by the end of it, he hadn’t even thought of going to his own bedroom. He’d trailed along behind Lara, who kept giving him secretive glances and lustful stares that swept up and down his body.

She tempted him. He’d thought about losing himself in her for a few hours, or even all night just so he didn’t have to think about tomorrow. Dread filled him every time he thought of Greed walking these halls, completely untamed because this wasn’t even his own kingdom. Greed cared little for what he changed or affected here. He would take because it was in his nature and Lust could say nothing.

He’d stood in the doorway as Lara undressed. He’d let his eyes linger on all the curves he remembered so well, like she was an extension of his own body. Arms braced on the door frame, he’d even leaned inside just a bit before some thread tugged backward.

A thread that was tied to Selene. A thread that whispered he’d rather be somewhere else. With someone else.

Without a word, Lust had left Lara alone in her room, heard a glass smash on the ground from something she’d thrown, and made his way back here. He had thought to return with Selene already warming his bed. Instead, he’d found it cold.

Lust had circled the bed, dragging his hand along the silk sheets. Just that slight movement had released some of her scent. Peppermint floated up and filled the air with a wintery scent. Cold. Detached. But ever so lovely all the same.

So he’d sat. And waited. He didn’t know how long it took her to get back to his room, but those soft moments of quiet had given him time to plan. When she stood in the doorway, surprised to see him, Lust already knew what he was going to say.

“Come,” he repeated, gesturing with his hand for her to sit in front of him. “I won’t bite.”

“You’ve already bitten me before.” Her eyes flicked to the door as she considered running, but then she seemed to set her shoulders against the thought.

Did she believe this was her duty? That her mother would... what? Disown her if she didn’t do whatever Lust wanted her to do?

Minerva wouldn’t pawn her daughter off to a demon unless she thought the girl could bring him to his knees. He tried to see what the High Sorceress had seen in Selene, but he couldn’t. There were a hundred women who looked just like her, and yet, this one had made him turn down an evening of lust for yet another of frustration.

How was she doing it?

And then she wandered toward him, her hands folded primly in front of her hips and those heavy woolen skirts shushing around her. Then he knew what it was that Minerva had seen.

The woman had a spine of steel. She might do what others wished her to do, but never once did she yield. He could picture her as a child, defiantly looking up at her school teachers as she refused the homework or argued that they were wrong in their teachings. And he could just as easily see her bloodied, glaring up at a torturer and willing them to do their best.

No, she was no ordinary woman. He just hadn’t seen it because he looked for the extraordinary in the physical. But she was far more than her body.

Selene sat down on the pillows in front of him, her spine straight as a board and her hands curled into fists in her lap. “What do you think I will enjoy?”

“First of all, not being so tense.” He picked up her hair, letting the dark waterfall trail through his fingers. “You haven’t been wearing this up lately.”

He heard a sharp gulp, her surprise bleeding through all the stiffness in her body. “You seemed to hate the bun. You took my hair out the very first time we were alone here.”

“You didn’t leave it down for me, did you?” Because he could not resist the temptation, he leaned down until his breath would warm her neck. “I find it hard to believe you would choose to do anything for me alone.”

A little shiver trailed through her and goosebumps rose where his breath had touched. “Maybe I like having it down.”

“Ah, there it is. The honesty I was looking for.” Lust had pity on her and leaned back. “This is an easy game, Selene. I will answer any question you have, and in return, you will let me touch you. Depending on the question, I will touch certain parts of you.”

“That seems more like a game of lust.”

“Ah, but you are not interested in me. We’ve already been over this. And I am only interested in you because you do not desire me.” He rolled his eyes, knowing that she couldn’t see him. “However, this game is not about bending you to my ways. You said you could feel lust, and that you did not know how to ask for what you wanted. I will not force myself on you. All I ask is that we explore what you might like together.”

“That sounds as though you’re asking to touch me in places I do not wish you to touch.”

“I will avoid such places if it makes you uncomfortable.” His soul screamed at him not to make that deal. Already his fingers itched to trail over her curves, to stroke between her thighs and see if she was as wet for him as he hoped. As if that would prove she wanted him.

The stiffness in her spine eased. Just a little. “If you will avoid places such as that, then...”

The hesitancy was the opening he needed. Because while he still wished to touch her, he also would take whatever he could. Even if that was little more than her hair.

“Ask your first question,” he whispered, licking his lips as he let her long locks trail through his fingers again. “Whatever you have been yearning to know.”

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